My magical, mystical Coen Sister has taken a look see at Danny Boyle's latest film, A LIFE LESS ORDINARY. This independent spirit is starting to scour the earth for films of interest. I don't know about you, but I loved "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting" and have high hopes for this film, which he chose over Alien Resurrection. Well here's what the witty and pretty Coen Sister said in her own melodious way:
"A Life Less Ordinary"
This is one weird movie, a little too weird for its own good. And not weird in a David Lynchian/dreamlike/surreal way, either. It seems to be a film that wants it all: romance, action, comedy and fantasy. It succeeds in a couple areas, but falls very short elsewhere.
"A Life Less Ordinary" reteams stud-of-the-moment Ewan MacGregor with his "Trainspotting" director and writer, Danny Boyle and John Hodges. Ewan plays a lowly janitor at a huge conglomerate who seems to have an endless stream of bad luck. First, he loses his job to a robot (don't ask). Then, when he breaks in to ask the President of the company for another chance, he accidentally ends up kidnapping his daughter. As played by Cameron Diaz in her largest film role yet, the daughter is a jaded, spoiled princess who gets her kicks out of humiliating the various men in her life. This pattern continues when she makes MacGregor take her to a deserted cabin and hold her hostage in order to bilk her father out of a large ransom. The joke is, of course, that MacGregor is more of a hostage than the controlling, insulting Diaz.
If you're a fan of Cameron Diaz (and who isn't?) you'll be happy to know she's never been better. Her comic timing is dead-on and her chemistry with MacGregor is genuine. MacGregor is engaging as always, solidifying his position as THE young actor to watch. I don't think there was a false moment between the two and the audience was really rooting for them.
But something goes wildly awry about halfway through the film, just when you're really getting into it. See, there's a pair of angels running around, played by Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo, and nobody seems to know what they're doing there. They were apparently sent there to help this couple get together, but their motives are very unclear. They attempt to kill the couple on more than one occasion, then decide they don't want to return to heaven and kidnap Diaz themselves. There's also some craziness involving a song-and-dance sequence where MacGregor and Diaz are transported to the 1940s while kareoking at a local tavern (as she proved in "My Best Friend's Wedding", Diaz really CAN'T sing). All this is capped off by a scene where MacGregor suddenly gains super-human powers and is momentarily made immortal. Essentially, the film is all over the map. I don't mind absurdist comedy or fantasy, but when it comes out of nowhere in the middle of a satirically biting romance, I feel let down. It was as though the filmmakers built a puzzle, taking all the worst scenes from "Michael" and tried to force them to fit with all the best scenes from "Bonnie and Clyde". The result is a shadow of what could have been and a very strange movie.
